justice model, the crime control model, and the balanced and restorative justice model. The Parens
Aaron Hernandez is a previous NFL player for the New England Patriots. In 2013 Hernandez was discovered blameworthy of first degree murder. The next year he was likewise discovered liable of a double homicide. Why might a 40 million dollar rising star perpetrate such a wrongdoing? Numerous theories have been produced to clarify criminal conduct. While a few theories are not as regular, others have developed and are utilized as a part of numerous criminal reviews today. Cutting edge criminologists consolidate the most important aspects of sociology, psychology, anthropology, and biological theories to advance their comprehension of criminal behavior. Rational choice theory, psychological, biological, and strain theory are used to analyze the
Throughout this semester, we have covered various criminological theories along with their strengths and limitations. These theoretical perspectives provide possible explanations to why individuals commit crimes. In addition to, these theories are indirectly woven within cultural objects such as song lyrics, movies, books, and television. For my cultural object, I chose to analyze a book titled; There Are No Children Here, that encompasses a variety of criminological theories. However, in this paper I will examine how Merton/Agnew’s strain theory and its assumptions are illustrated within the context and characters in this book. Specifically, I will focus on Lafeyette,
The attractiveness of this theory is primarily based on the ethical code that Hampton subscribes to, which is that pain-inflicted punishments should not be condoned when it comes to disciplining wrongdoers. Rather, constructive analysis done pertaining to why certain actions are morally wrong in society would be intellectually stimulating and productive for both the wrongdoers and the public, all while avoiding the infliction of physical pain. Compared to the retributivist argument, which circulates around the idea that the purpose of punishment is to make wrongdoers pay for their misdeeds, and that they should be treated the way that they have treated others, the MET is a more humane way to treat wrongdoers, and in the long run, would perhaps help them emerge from confinement as better citizens within society, rather than as potential repeat offenders. Therefore, the appeal of the MET stems from the positive implications of treating wrongdoers with respect and dignity, all while teaching them why their actions were wrong while simultaneously instilling positive and moral values in their psyche before allowing them to re-enter
Situational crime prevention (SCP) and rational choice theory (RCT), together, provide an insightful explanation as to why people commit crimes and what can be done to deter them. Much of the work done in RCT and SCP was founded by Derek Cornish and Ronald V. Clarke, who wanted to understand the decision-making process of potential offenders and focus on the spatial and situational factors that make such crime possible (Farrell and Hodgkinson, 2015). This paper aims to explore SCP and its relationship to RCT, as well as analyze the works of Keith Hayward and Graham Farrell in their discussion of these ideas. This paper has four objectives: first, the paper will discuss SCP and RCT and explain the link between the two concepts. Second, this paper will examine Hayward 's discussion of RCT, SCP, and cultural criminology. Third, I will explore Farrell 's critique of Hayward 's article and consider his arguments made in response to Hayward 's conclusions. Fourth, this paper will engage in its own critique of both Hayward 's and Farrell 's work and conclude with which article makes the most compelling argument.
For my article I chose, “Decision Making in the Crime Commission Process: Comparing Rapist, Child Molesters, and Victim-Crossover Sex Offenders” by Eric Beauregard, Benoit Leclerc, and Patrick Lussier. In traditional beliefs it suggests sex offenders are mainly driven by an uncontrollable urge to sexually offend. This article takes a looks into comparing how rapist, child molesters, and victim-crossover sex offenders make their criminal decisions. It investigated how decision-making is involved in target selection. The researchers used mixed methods along with Clarke and Cornish’s decision-making model to evaluate the offender’s actions. In the first studies, sex offenders’ decision-making was investigated using the rational choice approach.
Why do people commit crimes? What goes through their minds before they actually commit a crime? These are questions asked from society to criminologist every time one decides they want to commit a crime. Criminologists has given us different crime causations, theories, to explain the answer to these questions. A theory is a speculation about how phenomena, behavior, or process are caused and what takes place after the cause is determined (Anderson, 2015). There are numerous theories that have evolved over time to explain why crimes are committed. These theories include anomie, strained, social control, and rational choice theory. In this research paper I will be focusing on rational choice theory. Majority of these theories focus on a macro-level, which is the largest, meanwhile some focus on a micro-level, the smaller level, depending on the circumstances. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize how rational choice theory is integrate with different crimes. The crimes included are burglary, white collar crime, and murder.
According to this theory, people are involved in crimes because they are not in a position to achieve their goals making them to be frustrated and has the following sources: A person aspiring to become wealth and famous but these aspirations are impossible making them to engage in vandalism or physical attacks which are antisocial forms of behaviors, a person may experience strains due to removal of highly valued stimuli such as migration to new residence will make him/her to get involved in criminal activities in efforts to revenge the loss of highly valued stimuli.
General strain theory was developed by Robert Agnew. There are three major categories in the types of General strain theory: Failure to achieve positively valued goals, the loss of positively valued stimuli, and the presentation of negative stimuli. A positively valued goal has three sorts and those are money/economic success, status and respect. Lack of money causes strain because it is not obtainable through legitimate means. Strain will result from the lack of autonomy disproportionately affecting adolescents and the poor because of their lower position in society. Those three types of strains will increase the likelihood of experiencing negative emotions in proportion to the duration of stress. The links between strain and crime is that
A theory is a set of statements or principles developed to explain a group of facts or phenomena. It has been repeatedly tested and used to make predictions. Theories in this category attempt to explain why an individual commits a crime or delinquent behaviors. The primary goal of criminological theory is to help one gain an understating of why and how certain things are related to criminal behavior (Bohm and Vogel, 2011). Theories dissect the making and the breaking of the law, criminal different behavior, as well as patterns of criminal activity. Theories can be used to guide policy making and can be weighed on a number of criteria including biological things, psychological things, sociological things, economic things or a combination of
In the continuous of this project, the offender population that was chosen is the sex offender population. Sex offenders are defined as an individual who has been convicted of a sexual assault. These assaults include but no limited to rape, pedophiles, child sexual abuse, sodomy, sexual abuse, and non-contact sexual offense (“Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition,” 2001). This population is also considered special offenders. They are considered special, due to the vulnerability within certain setting (such as prison), and how they have specialized programs to help treat these individuals in behavior and reducing criminality and recidivism (Samuels, 2013)
Convicted murderer and cult leader Charles Manson were once quoted as saying “You expected to break me? Impossible! You broke me years ago. You killed me years ago”. On the surface, this statement may sound like brass bravado. A quick look into Manson’s childhood however and one might be inclined to question that notion. In this report, I will explain and utilize Michael R. Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi’s “A General Theory of Crime” and Edwin Sutherland’s “Differential Association” to analyze his involvement in the 1969 killing spree.
Batley (2005) stated that restorative justice is about restoring, healing and re- integrating victims, offenders, as well as the society and also preventing further harm. In this assignment, I will be discussing approaches to restorative justice and illustrating their advantages and disadvantages to offending. I will also provide the applications of these five approaches of restorative justice which are retributive approach, utilitarian deterrence approach, rehabilitation approach, restitution approach and restorative approach in the given case study. I will then explain my preferred approach to justice through identifying a personal belief or value that underpins my choice.
In the case of the death penalty, it has the added bonus in guaranteeing that the person would not offend again. Supporters of harsh punishments argue that the would-be criminal would consider the costs versus the benefits of committing a crime. If the costs outweigh the benefits, then it is assumed that he would stop what he is doing, effectively ‘deterred’. Furthermore, the usage of harsh punishments to effectively deter crime is ethically justified as it prevents more people from falling victim to crime. However it is extremely difficult to judge a punishment’s effectiveness based on its deterrence effect, consequently we must consider other variables that would entail a person to commit a crime. Motivation is a key factor; many criminals are motivated by desires, rage and desperation. It is very possible that criminals are not thinking rationally when committing a crime. In other words, the severity of a punishment is largely irrelevant when criminals are not thinking clearly at the time, the very fact that they committed the crime in the first place is already evident that they never considered the consequences. Therefore, it is untrue that harsher punishments are more
The two theories I have chosen are Terrie Moffitt’s dual pathway developmental theory and Sampson and Laub’s age-graded developmental theory. Moffitt’s dual pathway theory really focuses on the relationship between age and crime. Moffitt looks at the life-course of offenders to see where the criminal habit developed. She categorizes offenders into two categories: life-course persistent offenders and adolescent-limited offenders. Life-course offenders make up the smallest percentage of criminals but also make up the highest percentage of crime. Adolescent-limited offenders make up the majority of criminals but commit less crime and usually quit criminal behavior as they mature into adulthood. Sampson and Laub’s age-graded theory is more